Miles to Go
by sunnywest
Summary: After finding the Sonata of Darkness, Senritsu gets her old body back and with it, a lot more than she ever imagined. But after Kurapika mysteriously loses his memory, she sets out on a journey that takes her miles away from where she ever thought she'd end up. AU.
1. Gone

**One: Gone**

In many ways, Senritsu's entire life had been one giant mistake after mistake up to a very catastrophic mistake which had led to her permanently disfiguring herself.

Or at least, she always thought it was permanent.

The idea, even loosely, that finding the Sonata would some how restore her body to its former glory had been wistful thinking for the most part. Childish fantasies, but a hope she'd held onto nonetheless.

And somehow, that false hope turned out to not be so false after all. _Though not quite fully restored,_ finding part of the Sonata had given her most of her old charms back, physically at least. And as she stood outside _their coffee shop_ , staring at her reflection in a glass window out of the corner of her eye, she thought _things did start looking up for me after all..._

"I don't think this is going to work out," Kurapika said, his eyes looking everywhere but at her, one hand shoved lazily in the front pocket of his hands.

"Oh." She nodded. But even to her own ears, the words sounded pathetically stupid. "I mean...yeah, I agree actually." _Is he breaking up with me?_ They were hardly even dating. More akin to close friends. _He can't be breaking up with me._

"Really?" His right eyebrow went up, and his darting eyes finally landed on her with a look of affected boredom, like he was trying not to reveal his true feelings, which was a very Kurapika-thing to do.

"Yeah." She attempted a half-smile. "I just... it's been a nice three months together and all, but it's just not...there." _What a bold-faced lie._ The last three months, looking for the Scarlet Eyes with him, had been nothing short of pure bliss.

Kurapika remained stone-faced as he nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay, this is super awkward now," she said, attempting a more genuine smile. "Uh so I think we should just..."

"Part ways?" His suggestion seemed sincere, even if the look on his face had doubts.

She nodded. "Yeah. Good luck and let me know if you need any help at all looking for the Scarlet Eyes," she replied. "My offer still stands, even though we didn't get much done together." Also true. They had found several leads of course, and even one pair, but it still wasn't enough for Kurapika. And she suspected that played a large role in why he was leaving her, _breaking up with me._ She was a distraction. And Kurapika didn't want those.

"Sure thing." He smiled at her. And it was the sort of smile that made her fake grin turn real. "I need to do this on my own. It's not you, it's me."

 _Famous last words,_ she remembered thinking as she waved goodbye at him and turned to walk down the street to her apartment.

 _And how damn true that had been._

Because that was the last time anyone heard from Kurapika. Or saw him. Not that she was worried or anything; Kurapika had a habit, even when they were working together at the Nostrad's, of going long stretches of time not talking with anyone. _But this feels different_. And while she wasn't the type to blow up anyone's phone, she had called Kurapika two more times than was appropriate in the span of two weeks. Because if nothing else, _Kurapika isn't the type to make me worry unnecessarily._ Even when he fell off the face of the Earth, he always made a point to at least give her, or _LeorioGonKillua_ , or someone, some kind of indication that he was about to disappear for a bit _._ And to go almost four months without so much as a text saying _screw off, stop texting me_ was too far out of his character.

Sighing heavily, she sat her phone on the nightstand in her bedroom. Outside, the sun was beginning to rise and there was a list of things waiting to be done. Things _more important than worrying about Kurapika's current whereabouts._ There was the expedition she was about to embark on, _can I really throw that away to look for someone who might not want to be found?_ It was good money and a great opportunity, even if there was a high chance, _like one-hundred percent,_ she'd die along the way. Her life goal had already been accomplished. She found the Sonata and destroyed it. At least, she found part of it. There was more, and maybe it had originated form the Dark Continent, and beyond. Maybe she would find the rest of it out there. _Maybe not,_ but it was worth the risk.

 _And can I really throw that chance away for someone who might not want to be found?_

 _Yes,_ she most definitely could.

Pressing the phone to her ear, she tried again. _If he doesn't pick up that's it._ She'd hop on the boat and be done with it. _Hell,_ maybe they would meet there. It was highly likely one of the princes was in possession of some of the Scarlet Eyes anyway.

"Hello?"

"Kurapika!" She jumped to her feet. "Where are you?"

"…I think you got the wrong number," a man said.

"What?" She said, pulling the phone away from her and checking the screen. She'd called this number dozens of times, memorized it even, _of course it's the right number_. "You're not Kurapika?"

"Uh no...I mean, I just found this phone a few days ago."

"You found it?" She asked, beginning to pace around her small bedroom. "Like lying around on the ground or what?"

The lack of response on the other line was telling. He was lying about something, probably about how he'd acquired the phone. She could hear it in the irregular way he was breathing.

"Where did you find this phone?" she asked, with surprising boldness. Ever since restoring her old body to it's previous form, she'd found herself feeling more confident, outwardly at least. But more so, her temper overall seemed to be shorter. She had less patience in general and grew irate easier "Look, I don't care about the phone, or how you got it really. I just...this number belongs to my friend. I've been calling him the past few months and heard nothing. So if you brought that phone brand new and just randomly got this number, just tell me," she added.

"I got it at a secondhand shop. I just needed something cheap, ya know? I just have to factory reset it, which I couldn't figure out."

"Where did you buy it?" She asked.

* * *

The secondhand shop was called _Tomin's Pawn and Lawn_ , where apparently Tomin "pawned" random items off the street and did lawn care on the side. She'd never heard of anyone buying phones from a pawn shop that mowed lawns, _but whatever. I just hope he wasn't lying..._ She'd attempted to call the man several times after he'd given her the name of the store with no success.

A blast of warm air hit her face as she entered the shop and she found herself wondering for the hundredth time if she was making a mistake by even looking for Kurapika. Maybe he was truly immersing himself in the world of the mafia to never look back. _Maybe he's not just immersing himself,_ maybe he had really become a criminal.

She snorted at the thought of that. _Kurapika, a criminal? Never._ Because despite the tint of logic to those thoughts, the Kurta would never sacrifice his morals completely.

"Hello!" A blonde-haired lady stood behind the check-out counter. "I'm Tomin! How can I help ya?"

"A friend of mine lost his phone," Senritsu said, which was her first mistake. _Should've said it was my phone._ "I've been calling the number and the guy said he got it from here."

Tomin's eyes darted around. "Really, sorry miss. There's really no way for me to verify stolen goods. I can give you half off anything else you see here though," she replied. "And for your friend."

She shook her head once. "Well I was actually wondering if my friend came here in the last...oh few days I suppose/ Blonde hair, black eyes, maybe wearing a suit."

"Don't ring a bell, sorry miss. I'll make it two-thirds off. Throw in a BOGO deal."

 _I don't want no damn BOGO deal._ Senritsu's eyes scanned the small shop. _No phones._ "Do you remember anyone who gave you a phone in general in the past few days?" she asked.

Tomin rubbed her nose with her middle finger. "Uh not really. I mean, I get a lot of people coming in and out of my shop...oh, I guess I do sort of remember this fine gentleman that came in...he gave me a phone too, and a bunch of other stuff, but he's a regular of mine," she said. "I honestly don't normally take phones, but made an exception only cause he was trying to get rid of it."

Senritsu took a step forward, placing her hands on the counter. "Who gave it to you?"

Tomin threw her hands in the air. "Hey, confidentiality." But her heart was beating awfully fast. _She's lying, but about what? And why?_

"Look, I don't care who sold it to you. I think that phone belonged to a friend of mine and I just want to track him down. If I know who had that phone before you sold it, they might know where he is or at least the last place he was. You can keep your BOGO deal," Senritsu said.

Tommin sighed. "81-507155381. Call it soon, because it's definitely a burner. And don't tell him you got this number from me."

Senritsu was already punching the numbers into her phone, walking out of the door to stand on the sidewalk. The phone rang a few times before someone answered.

"Hello?" a male voice said.

Senritsu hung up faster than she could blink. _That voice...but there's no way it's him. What an overreaction, Senritsu. Relax. Call the number again and apologize._ She re-dialed the number and pressed it to her ear, swallowing hard.

 _But that_ had sounded an awful lot like a certain leader of the Ryodan.


	2. 2

**Two**

Senritsu pressed the phone to her ear, waiting carefully for the person on the other end to pick up. Doubtlessly, they'd be a little upset having been hung up on just a few seconds ago, so she prepared some sort of excuse.

"Hello?"

It wasn't Kuroro Lucilfer now that she heard his voice more clearly, _quit being so paranoid._ She thought for the briefest of moments about how she would phrase this question. "Hi, I'm calling in regards to an overdue bill," she said.

"Bill?" The voice sounded genuinely befuddled. And she realized right away _that wasn't the best opener._

"Yes, I just need to verify some information with you first. You first and last name?"

"You've got the wrong number."

"I—"

 _Click._ There went that idea. Not that it was a good one to begin with. _Oh well, whatever._ Shoving the phone into her pocket, she let out a sigh. _Time to call it a night, Senritsu._ And again, she couldn't help but think _maybe I'm just being over-paranoid._ Being slightly paranoid by nature, she had a tendency to assume the worst in most situations. Lately, it seemed like her paranoia had worsened.

But she shook those thoughts out of her mind and headed to the curb. Hailing a taxi and taking it to the nearest airport seemed like a good idea. If she left now, _I'll make it to the boat just in time. Dark Continent, here I come._

"Hey miss!" It was Tomin, running towards her, hand outstretched. She stopped just in front of her. "I feel kind of bad for lying to you just now. I know who that phone belongs to but...I was told not to tell anyone about how it ended up here."

"It's a phone. Why the secrecy?" Senritsu peered at her. "Who does it belong too?"

Tomin shot her shifty look, before telling her the story of how she'd acquired the phone and how to locate its owner.

* * *

 _Better be grateful._

That was all she could think about as she trudged down the alley way _._ Repeating it like some mantra in her head, because she knew it wasn't going to be true. Mildy angry. Upset. Annoyed. All those things, Kurapika might be and more. But he wouldn't be grateful. And now that the clock had struck past ten at night, she'd missed her last chance to _get on that damn boat._ Maybe she could rush really quickly after this, find some private jet to fly her out there, and catch them just before they set sail.

The address Tomin had scribbled on a piece of paper and shoved in her face took her to a small, brick chapel. And despite the dinginess of the area surrounding it, the chapel itself looked rather picturesque against the gray-ish, navy sky. Peaceful and quaint, not ominous and foreboding like she always pictured religious institutes.

Walking up the small steps, four in all, she paused, hand hovering awkwardly in front of faded wood. _Maybe she was pulling my thumb. Maybe this is some sort of elaborate trap to get me killed. Maybe..._

She knocked. Thrice and waited a full ten seconds before knocking again.

The door cracked open, just enough for her to make out a bald-headed man with beady yellow eyes. "What is your business here?" he asked, with a low, raspy voice.

 _I've come to confess, Father._ Blessedly, she had enough sense not to utter those words aloud. "I came to see a friend."

"No one is here but me," he replied.

"I can hear someone else in there with you." _Several in fact._ Hearts beating all around. But she didn't hear the signature beat of Kurapika's perpetually angry heart. A beat she could pick out anywhere.

The man's thin brows came together. "Those who come here do not wish to be found."

"Look…" Unexpected ire rose up her throat, but she pushed it back down and maintained an even tone. "I just want to make sure he's okay. We don't even have to talk, if it's against your religious code."

The door slammed in her face with a thud. And Senritsu wondered _how long do I have to wait before I can just break in?_ But the door swung open and the man, dressed in black pants and a black shirt, stepped aside.

"Come in," he said.

 _But only for a little while_ rang through her mind as she stepped into the brightly lit chapel. The air smelled of burning wax and something sweeter, like candied apples or boiling sugar. And she could hear a bit of chatter, here and there, light and airy and _why in the world would Kurapika come here_? Maybe this was where his secret stash of the Scarlet Eyes were, _ha...yeah right._

She moved towards the sanctuary, where most of the noise was coming from. Several people sat in pews, chatting amicably with one another in the dimly lit room. They paid no heed to her as she shuffled between them towards the altar, where to her right, in the front of the church, was a familiar mop of blonde hair.

"Kurapika?" She said, sounding surprised as her voice bounced off the stone walls.

"Hello" His voice was smooth and low, like honey or slow-moving molasses. _Really, Senritsu stop it._ A bit over the top to say the least. It was just she hadn't heard his voice in a while.

"You turning over a new leaf?" She asked, trying to keep a playful lilt to her voice.

But the look he shot her was anything but receptive of her teasing. His overall demeanor too was a bit strange. And he wasn't really looking at her, though that could've been from the sheer lack of lighting in the room.

"Do I know you?" He asked.

She blinked. A chuckle escaped from her lips. "Real funny. Seriously, did you give up on finding the Eyes and decide to become the male equivalent of a nun? What's that, a priest?"

But he only stared at her with _not black eyes. He isn't wearing his contacts. Interesting._ "I'm sorry," he said. "But I really don't know who you are."

"Sorry about what?" She took a hesitant step towards him placing her hand on the back of the pew. "You really don't know who I am?"

"I don't." His heart beat was steady and even, _he's not lying?_

If she could conjure up questions marks and throw them over her head, she would've done just that. Kurapika wouldn't play around with her like this, _so does he really not know who I am?_

"Do you know me?" He asked.

"Yeah...you're Kurapika. Do you now remember your name?"

He shook his head. "I can't recall a thing frankly."

"What's the last thing you remember?" She started to lean towards him, then changed her mind.

"Being here," he replied. "How do you know me?"

"We go way back, to say the least." After a moment, she decided to sit down on the pew next to him. "It would take me a while to explain, but in short we both work for the same man as a bodyguard. Worked, I guess I should say. I took on another job, and you...are your old boss's boss now. Sort of. You saved his business, but you left too...for a bit." She looked in front of her, at the altar. The noise around her was peaceful, the voices soothing like hushed whispers of some religious lullaby. "Anyway, we're coworkers basically." The last part was mostly true. Last she'd seen Kurapika, they had officially demoted their relationship to coworker status.

Kurapika regarded her carefully with dark, gray eyes. "Why are you here?"

"I was looking for you," she replied. "I last saw you...I don't know, it's been a while. And I hadn't heard from you since then. You aren't really the type to completely ignore me, at least not for months on end like this."

"How did you find me?"

"Mostly following a few completely unconnected leads here," she said. "But you don't even know why you're here, so it was a bit pointless…except I did find you."

His shoulder slumped slightly. He looked away from her, towards the altar. Though she could tell he wasn't really looking at it.

"So...you want to stay here? Because I can break you out." She lowered her voice at that last part and glanced behind her, where Father Someone stared at her eerily from the door frame, willing her to leave, _no doubt_ , with his mind.

"I'm not sure," he replied, dourly. "I must be here for a reason."

"I don't know," Senritsu said. "Just based off what I know of you, you wouldn't just like commit yourself to priesthood and…I know more people who know you. Maybe they can help."

That seemed to have done the job. He stood to his feet. "Alright," he said. And she noticed he was dressed in black too, which washed the color from his skin. Made him look paler, more delicate than he really was.

Squeezing out of the pew, she marched towards the man at the door.

"Blessings to you," he said, bowing his head.

"Wait a minute." Senritsu stopped dead in her tracks and stared at him. "You would know. How my friend got here."

The priest shook his head. "I cannot impart this information to you."

"Come on." That was Kurapika. And it was clear to Senritsu, just based off the tone of his voice, that the two of them had already had this conversation several times already.

The priest shook his head again, but he looked down at his feet. "I am very sorry, but it is a matter of life or death for me."

 _Bit dramatic._ Senrtisu didn't press the issue though, because the man looked serious. Maybe she could come back later and throttle the truth out of him.

"Don't stress out about it," Kurapika said, giving the man a charming smile. "Thanks."

The priest nodded and shot them something that on a less grim face might've been a grin. Then the two of them headed out into the chilly night air, down the small steps, and onto the main road.

As they walked, she could hear every breath of his, the hum of cars whizzing down the streets, the chatter of people, the clinking of forks from nearby restaurants. Everything but him. And it seemed to roar in her ears. She focused her mind a bit, pushing out the other sounds.

"Well, I guess we should start with the basics," she said.

"Sure," he said. Though he looked anything but sure. "How about starting with your name again?"

"Senritsu," she replied, feeling upset for some reason. _How could he not remember my name?_

"Are we friends?" he asked. "Or just coworkers?"

"Good friends," she said, looking up ahead. "Obviously, I came looking for you."

"Right," he said.

"Right," she replied. "Er okay, well I guess we should start with…Tomin."

"Who?"

"Tomin from the pawn lawn care place told me how to find you…We'll get information out of her…Her shop's probably closed for the day, but there's a chance she might still be there." _Be better to catch her alone and unaware anyhow._

They made the trek to Tomin's shop again, taking a taxi. But when they pulled up, yellow tape lined the perimeter of the shop. Four police cars were parked outside, lighting flashing blue and red. She heard chatter from inside. High-pitched and agitated. Some voices stood out from the others. _But not Tomin's._ It was… _her mother?_ She gleaned as much from the way she was babbling on incoherently about _how…Tomin…_

"Well, that's not happening." Senritsu said. "Talking to Tomin that is."

Kurapika looked down at her curiously. But as if in answer, the front door opened up and some women walked out carrying a stretcher. On it lay a body bag, clearly full.

Somebody had killed Tomin.


	3. Found

**Three: Found**

Senritsu pressed her hand to her forehead.

"You know that person?" Kurapika asked.

"No, but you might." She shook her head. "I mean, I met her this morning. You sold your phone to her, or someone did on your behalf. I don't know the full story frankly."

"Oh."

"Yeah oh is right," she replied. "She was our ticket to however you ended up as a priest, because she knew you went there." _Why didn't I bother to ask her anything?_

He frowned, his face twisting as if in thought. "So it's a dead-end...unless her dying is somehow connected to me."

"I doubt that too," she replied, wondering if she really did or didn't. But the timing was too close to be related. That person would've had to overhear Tomin, only a hours earlier, tell Senritsu where to find Kurapika. And Tomin seemingly had just been killed not long ago, _certainly not right after I left. No, it's likely whoever killed Tomin was planning on doing her in for a bit._

"So what now?" Kurapika asked.

"We can go back to my place." Though she tried to keep her tone serious, there was a note of humor there that she definitely meant to hide. But Kurapika gave her a look like she'd grown three heads. "I mean to investigate, silly. My apartment is not far from here."

"Oh. Alright."

* * *

Fortunately, they didn't quite make it to Senritsu's place before both of them got a better idea. Get information from the police. And see if Tomin had left anything indicating who might have killed her. Whatever the case, Tomin had known Kurapika went to the chapel, and while she hadn't divulged any details as to how she knew, Senritsu could surmise that she at least knew something otherwise she wouldn't have been so shifty over a phone.

But when they took a taxi to the police station and walked inside, the cops were rather unforthcoming, even after Senritsu flashed her Hunters License. Eventually, they were taken to the chief's office.

"She left a note addressed to you," Chief Swartzenbarger said, leaning back against the chair in his office. It creaked and groaned, despite the man's thin frame. "Senritsu, is it?"

"To me?" She said, resisting the urge to point to herself.

The man's piercing yellow eyes flickered to Kurapika for a moment before settling on her. "You're a suspect in her murder."

"She was with me," Kurapika said, placing his elbows on the desk.

"Yeah. I can get eye witnesses attesting to the fact that I was at a chapel during the time she was murdered." _Hopefully._ She hoped the good Father wouldn't lie.

The chief cleared his throat, he was leafing through a bunch of files on his desk. He sat a folder on top of all the others. "Look, I personally don't think you did it otherwise I would've arrested you already. But you are a suspect and you were the last person who spoke with Tomin alive, we caught the two of you talking on the street cam, so I can't give you any information even though you're a Hunter." He stood up and gave her a pointed look. "I'm going to get a drink, you two want anything?"

 _Uh no, we're leaving._ But there was a glimmer in the man's eyes. She looked at his desk again, at the carefully placed blank folder in the middle of it. "I'll take water."

"Same," Kurapika said.

"I'll be back in five minutes." He walked out the door and shut it behind him.

Senritsu grabbed the folder, pulled her the end of her shirt over her fingers, and carefully extracted the piece of paper from between it. Then she read it.

 _Senritsu,_

 _I'm sorry for lying to you earlier. I made a mistake by telling you and frankly it's going to cost me my life. I'm giving this to my mom, who will deliver it to you that or she'll give it to the police._

 _I can't tell you everything, but your number is thirteen. Go to the last thirteen places your friend was and his memories will come back._

 _-T._

She wrinkled her nose and let Kurapika read it.

"What?" he said.

"My thoughts exactly." She shoved the letter in the folder and sat it back on the desk. "The last thirteen places you were at?"

"How the hell am I supposed to remember that?" He asked, clearly rhetorically and thinking out loud, but Senritsu wanted to answer anyway.

"You can't recall anything," she replied. "Tomin told me you came into the store and sold the phone to her alone...but you don't remember that."

"So I lost my memories after that," he replied.

"What do you remember?"

"Waking up in the chapel. There's a basement where those who serve and live there sleep. I woke up in one of those beds, wearing...a suit I think. Father Ariale gave me new clothes and something to eat. Wouldn't tell me how I wound up there no matter how much I argued with him. But he kept saying it was life or death for him, that's why he couldn't say anything. That I'd have to figure it out on my own. I figured he was just being dramatic and that maybe I'd hit my head a bit too hard." His eyes drifted to the desk. "That was maybe two days ago, and I still can't remember a thing."

"So that doesn't account for the four months you were missing."

"Four?"

"I mean tomorrow it'll be four months, or close to is," she said, _not like I was counting_. "So I'm rounding up. Four months since we…since you vanished. Or close enough to it. You haven't contacted me or any of your friends in four months, nor were you answering your phone."

His eyebrow went up, but his eyes never met hers. Something was different about him and she took a moment to study him. He looked a paler, a bit thinner; dark circles hung beneath his eyes, giving him the appearance of a raccoon. But he had been looking for the Scarlet Eyes, _so it's understandable he's a little worn out right now. Still,_ his demeanor seemed darker, moodier in a way she didn't understand. And it was likely Kurapika himself didn't know why he was so gloomy and dodgy either.

"Well, besides the good Lord's house, which I'm assuming doesn't count, I'm going to guess Tomin's shop is one of the thirteen places since presumably that's where you were before the chapel," she said.

Swartzenbarger strode into the room with a can of diet ginger ale, and two glass bottles of water. He sat the bottles on the desk in front of them, then sat across from them and popped open the can. He took a long drink before sitting it on top of the folder. "So can I answer any more questions for the two of you?"

 _Longer than five minutes,_ but Senritsu grinned as she unscrewed the water bottle and took a sip.

"Thanks," Kurapika said, wrapping his slender fingers around his bottle. "But we should get going."

"Of course." He plucked a card off his desk and extended it towards him. "I'll keep you updated. Let me know if you two find anything though."

Kurapika took it. "Any chance we could get inside Tomin's shop?"

The Chief raised his bushy, red eyebrows. "Don't press your luck, kid."

And with that, the two of them left, heading out on the street.

"We could break in," Senritsu said.

Kurapika scoffed. "That's against the law."

"You're a member of the mafia," she said, mostly by accident. She shoved her bottle into her mouth and took a drink.

"Am I?" He looked genuinely surprised.

She swallowed and cleared her throat. "Yeah, morality is...well no you're pretty moral for a criminal actually unless you're trying to get something, which you are," she replied. Her stomach growled loudly. "Hey, you want to grab something to eat?"

"Sure."

"There's a nice café close to here. They serve our..." _Our favorite sandwich_ , and she almost said that aloud. But sh-e missed all the times they'd gone to this café together. "Uh they serve ourmeletes."

"What?"

"Fancy omelets. Come on." Face warming, she guzzled the rest of her water and hustled down the street. The café was still open, being one of the few in this area that didn't close at 9:00 pm. They found a seat by the window.

Kurapika looked over the menu, and Senritsu thought _damn, he looks good in all black._ She was use to him wearing black suits of course, but always with a pop of white, or some color if he were feelings really daring. But the pure black look made him look older, not like a kid playing dress up.

"What do you like to get?" he asked.

"Apple, peanut butter, and cheddar sandwich." And when he wrinkled his nose, she added, "You'll love it. Especially with a glass of watermelon juice and black coffee."

"Have we been here before?" He sat the menu down.

"...Yeah, once or twice." She covered her face with the menu.

When the waitress came by, he ordered exactly what she'd suggested. And Senritsu got an iced mocha with her sandwich.

"I haven't seen you two in a while," the waitress said.

"Hi Mabel." Senrtisu shot her a smile. "How've you been?"

"Oh well. Just ready to get off my feet." Her gaze turned to Kurapika. "And you?"

"Well," he said evenly. Which was a very Kurapika answer.

Mabel flitted off.

"Alright, so you came and willingly sold your phone to Tomin for some reason about two days ago or so, then presumably you went to the chapel, where you either lost your memories there, or shortly before arriving there," Senritsu said. "You don't recall going there yourself, but that doesn't mean you didn't. And it's possible someone brought you there too, so we can't rule that out."

He nodded.

"So we go to Tomin's shop and...and what?"

"See what happens?"

"Yeah," she replied, trying not to stare at him too intensely. Last time she was here, he'd broken up with her the moment they'd walked out that door. And it brought back a flood of feelings, mostly sadness. But getting upset now would do no good. Kurapika didn't remember breaking her heart, or even being with her. _So I'll slap him when he gets his memories back..._

Mabel brought there drinks to them. And after a few sips, Kurapika agreed that he did like his coffee black and bitter, especially paired with the refreshing juice.

"Guess we know each other pretty well." He grinned.

"Maybe." She almost winked, but smirked instead and took a sip of her coffee.

"So are we really going to break into that store?" Kurapika asked, holding his mug just below his nose.

"Maybe." She shrugged. "Guess you'll have to wait and find out."


	4. 4

**Four:**

Senritsu's idea did in fact involve breaking into the store, only because it was the simplest, most straightforward manner of getting in there without causing too much trouble. Not that she knew what they were going in there for, nor even if that was one of the last thirteen places Kurapika had been, _but it's a good place to start at least._

She fiddled with the lock to the store's door, with an air of faux confidence she hoped would render her actually capable of picking the lock.

"You know anything about Nen?" she asked.

"About what?"

"That answers my question." She took a deep breath. "I'm trying to look good in front of you by not busting a window, because it's something you would oppose to."

"Bust the window if you want," he said, glancing behind him at the yellow tape they'd gone under. His expression wasn't one of someone who recognized where he was, but he also didn't look entirely befuddled. Nor did he look disgusted at the notion of breaking the law, _like the real Kurapika would._

"Busting windows is outdated anyway," she replied, her feet finding their way around to the back of the store. Kurapika followed closely behind her. At the back of the store was a second door and that Senritsu did break, as quietly and carefully as she could. A tinge of guilt washed over her as she slid through the window and stepped carefully over broken glass. _Tomin might have been killed because of me._ But more likely the woman was involved in some shady dealings, maybe even some kind of underground work that had led to her sudden demise.

 _So then why did she write me that letter?_

"Not bringing anything to mind," Kurapika said from just over her shoulder.

"Let's keep exploring." Senritsu navigated them past boxes and crates full of junk to the main part of the store, where heaps of what looked like _more junk_ lay strewn on top of counters, inside of glass cases, and on the floor in crates and boxes. She looked around, for anything that indicated Kurapika had once been here.

"I don't remember this," Kurapika said, answering her unspoken question.

 _Good to know._ "Tomin's note said go to the last thirteen places you were…so maybe…that's not here?" she asked.

Kurapika stepped forward and began picking through some stuff on a counter to his right. "Do we have to visit them in order? Because if we're speaking literally, I was at that chapel last, but I didn't really remember anything while I was there before so I ruled it out. But it's possible, I guess, that I went somewhere before going to the chapel. And then presumably she means before I lost my memory, not after."

She frowned and picked up what looked like an old, rotted shoe. _Who would buy this trash? Seriously, what kind of Pawn Shop is this?_ That sold people's phones? "Here's how I figure it. A few days ago, you came here, sold your phone for some reason, then went to the chapel presumably the same day, or at least not long after you sold your phone. So there is a small window of time where you could've gone somewhere else, but I really don't think that's the case. "

"Are we counting like sidewalks? Streets?" He had picked up what looked like a book and was flipping through the pages. "How literal does last thirteen places mean?"

 _Good question._ She sat the shoe down on the counter and walked over to him, feigning interest in what he was reading. But she was more interested in the way the moonlight made him look _handsome, yeah that's it. He looks nice_ _._ Senritsu cleared her throat and picked up the closest thing to her. It was a roach and she flung it across the room. "That's the problem. Tomin was so vague, her letter makes no sense. Last thirteen places could mean anything, or anywhere," she said.

"Yeah…" He put the book down. "Let's go back to the chapel then."

* * *

It was nearing midnight when they actually made it back to the chapel, and that was mostly on account of both of them being struck with sudden amnesia as to where the place had been. They spent a good bit of time simply wandering down random streets, thinking it would lead them to the chapel until the stumbled upon the correct one. A few months ago, getting lost with Kurapika would've been fun, a moment in time where the two of them could laugh about their awful navigating skills.

But today, it stressed her out.

The doors of the chapel were locked tightly when she pulled on them. And Senritsu considered using several methods to get inside, finally settling on just knocking. It would be rude for a man of God to turn away two, tired souls in the middle of the night, _or something_. She rapped against wood several times. Then thrice more when no answer came. _Come on._ This time, she knocked hard and loud, and her knocks echoed down the street.

"Maybe he's asleep," Kurapika said, though he sounded about as confident in that idea as Senritsu felt.

"Yeah, maybe." Wrapping her hands around the door's handle, she pulled.

 _Pop._

"Whoops." She held the broken handle in the air and grinned.

"Guess you're super woman," he said without the slightest bit of sarcasm. _Well, maybe he is the real Kurapika._ Except, Kurapika wouldn't make a lame joke like that, _would he?_

She pushed the door open and stepped inside. But a chill ran up her spine and she stepped across the threshold. _Something's a bit different here._

"Wait here," she said. And she was glad she couldn't see whatever look Kurapika was giving her as she ventured into the sanctuary. The scent of something warm and metallic hit her nose _; that's it_. _Why is it so quiet in here?_ Kurapika's heart beat behind her steadily and she could hear him breathing lightly, hear his footsteps moving away from her. Outside, she heard a car drive by, bugs singing songs of the night, _but I don't hear anyone in here._

The sanctuary appeared to be empty and, not being able to find a light switch to confirm the theory, she went back to Kurapika, who had not heeded her command to stay put and gone somewhere else. The small hallway seemed unusually dark as she ventured down it. At its end, stood a half ajar door with light pouring out of it. The hinges creaked as she opened it further and stepped onto the stairwell.

"Find something?" she said.

"Yeah…"

"You sound unsure of that." Her feet hit the bottom of the stairwell, and she nearly ran into Kurapika's back, which she wouldn't have really minded. But then she saw what had made him stop dead in his tracks.

 _Blood. Lots of it._ And people. But none of them had heartbeats.


	5. Blood

**AN:** Thanks Amezardh for leaving a review! I really appreciate it!

* * *

 **Five: Blood**

Senritsu opened her mouth to say something, and then shut it just as quickly. Not speaking turned out to be a wise idea once she caught a glimpse of Kurapika's dour expression.

Dropping to her feet, she placed two fingers on Father Ariale's neck. _Nothing,_ although she knew that already. The man was very dead.

"Did you know him well?" she asked. And it was probably one of the dumbest things she could have asked at that moment, because _obviously not._ Kurapika had only known him for a couple of days at most.

"Not really." Kurapika shot her a look, and his previous expression had already been replaced with one less sober.

There was blood. All over the place. And it wasn't normal spillage, if someone being murdered could be considered normal at all. It looked like someone had made a point to decorate the walls in a festoon of crimson and guts. Not that there was any sort of discernible pattern to it, but _those splatters didn't get there by accident, someone tried really hard to create a mess because they wanted us to notice it._ And it wasn't just Ariale's remains or blood littering the room either _. These must be some of the others that were staying here…_

Clearing her throat, she took a second look around, listening for any heart beats. The room was a basement turned into some kind of sleeping quarters. Three beds lined either side of the wall, and several shelves had been put up above them. And everything looked neat and orderly, the beds were all made with not a speck of red on them, the shelves were lined neatly with clothes and other things; _other than the walls, nothing looks out of place…was there no fight?_

"I think whoever killed them lived here," Kurapika said. And he seemed to be making a general observation, but still she was surprised that even with no memories, _he's the same old Kurapika._

She looked up at him, still hunched of Ariale's body. "What gives you that impression? Any clue who it might be?"

He shrugged. "It's just a guess. And no, I didn't really get to see any of the others living here that often. And I can't recognize them now anyway."

Senritsu stood up and wiped her hands along her pants. "Oh…why do you think it's someone who lived here though?"

"I really don't know."

She shot him a look, but decided not to press it. _Not quite the old Kurapika,_ who would've spouted off some theory, even if it was slightly wrong. Still, she could see wheels turning in his head as his eyes darted around and _I gotta stop staring at him like that._ He didn't know who she was really and was probably still mildly suspicious of her, if the way he looked at her was anything to judge by.

She pulled the phone out of her pocket and dialed emergency services. "…Yes, I'd like to report a murder. Uh at Thaddeus of Life Temple…in….yes, no I'm here. Yes, I'll be here when you arrive…I'd rather not stay on the line, ma'am. My name's Senritsu…sure." She hung up. "Let's go."

"We're not staying?" he asked.

"No, I'd rather not explain that we had nothing to do with their murders. Our DNA's all over the place, but…that might not matter because we were here earlier." She started heading for the stairs. "You coming?"

"…We're just going to leave?"

"Yes, we're just going to leave. We don't have anything to do with this…and if we do, we're going to catch the culprit." _What is wrong with you?_ It's what she wanted to say as insensitive as it was, but she had to remember he was probably just confused in general, _and he doesn't know who you are, Senritsu. Why would he trust you?_

 _Or is something wrong with me?_ Was she being too insensitive?

"Come on or you're explaining to the cops how you were the sole survivor on your own." Turning on her heels, she went up the steps.

Once upstairs, the two of them went out into the cool night. _Night?_ That's right, it was night now. It seemed like not long ago it had been day, but that was when they were talking to Chief _Swartzenburger or something like that._ The sound of sirens howling through the night reached her ears, so they hurried onto the main street and into the crowd of people going in and out of buildings.

Casting a tentative glance at her blonde companion, she wondered _why does he look so sad?_ It was something about him that just seemed uncomfortably different, beyond the death of the people at the chapel and losing his memories. It was like a weight, or cloud hovering over top of him.

"So did that jog your memory at all?" Senritsu asked, looking down at the sidewalk.

"Maybe."

"Really?" She perked up at that. "What do you remember?"

He scrunched his nose. "I'm not sure…I remember a bloody wall like the one back there. But this one had words on it."

"Wait what?" she stopped in the middle of the street. "We need to go somewhere and talk, because that sounds freaky."

He let out a rather uncharacteristic sigh. And it was the tiniest of sighs, but she could tell he was annoyed. "Alright," he said. "Somewhere quiet."

* * *

"This is my place." Senritsu unlocked her front door and held it open. Kurapika had been here before, _of course_ , but he wouldn't remember it. Not that they had spent much time here, maybe once or twice when they weren't off looking for the Eyes.

"It's nice," he replied, without even bothering to sound like he meant it.

"Yeah." She followed him inside and waved at her couch. "I'll make you some tea."

He sat. And she boiled water in her tiny kitchen, from which she could see Kurapika. Though it was hard not to study him for the n'teenth time, she focused on the busy task of picking out two matching, black mugs and placing leaves of green tea in her strainer and plopping them in the cup. The kettle whistled after a few moments and she poured out the water, and let the tea steep while searching for honey. Kurapika got one half of a spoonful, but she liked hers sweet so _two, on second thought three spoonfuls._ She carried the cups back to him and sat them on her coffee table.

"So…what do you remember?" she sat on the couch, as far away from him as possible.

"I remember being at the chapel, no not then, before I woke up there and couldn't remember anything." He picked up the cup and held it under his nose. "It was like a vision flashed through my mind when I reached the bottom of the steps. I've just walked inside the chapel. Father Ariale is there in the sanctuary and he's cleaning the wall, because there's blood everywhere. He looks surprised to see me, like he recognizes me from somewhere. And there's someone behind me, but before I can turn around the memory ends."

Senritsu took a sip of tea and burned her tongue, but she took a second sip anyway. "That's odd." It was all she had to say really, because it was very strange. But it made her wonder if by going to the last _twelve…or is it thirteen_ places Kurapika had been, he would remember things related to how he ended up losing his memory. "What were the words?"

He shrugged. "I can't make them out; I just know it says something."

"Like a dream," she replied. "You know when you have a dream and even though you don't see something, you know it's there."

"Yeah, sort of," Kurapika replied, the mug still covering half his face. "Think it means anything?"

"You're asking me, Wise One?" But this wasn't Kurapika she was talking to. "Sorry, it's an inside joke between the two of us. Frankly, I'm not sure. But if that really is a memory, that means Father Ariale did know who you were and was lying…maybe. Did we ever directly ask him if he knew you or not?"

"I did. And he said no and that I basically just showed up there one day."

She frowned. _Tomin and Father Ariale? Are the two of them connected somehow…?_ Now, that was two people who had been killed under unusual circumstances, and while she had likely been deluding herself thinking Tomin's death was not related to them, _there is no doubt that Father's Ariale's death is…but how?_

"I feel bad." Kurapika lowered the mug slightly.

"It's not your fault," she said, glancing up at him.

"But it probably is."

And she wanted to reach over and hug him, but something told her _don't do that. He doesn't even know who you are, really._

"Well what, you want me to say it's your fault?" She sat her mug down and realized she'd burned the tips of her fingers slightly.

"You wouldn't be lying."

"Oh stop it. It's not your fault he died. Or Tomin for that matter. It's the fault of whoever killed them, and we're going to find out who did it." _And I will,_ no matter how long it took, because there was no way she was going to let someone get away with putting that look on Kurapika's face.

He lifted the mug up and took a long drink from it before sitting it down on her table with a clink. "Whatever you say."


	6. 6

**Six**

"So where is the second to last place you were at?" Senritsu said, once the awkward tension in the air around them had finally cleared. They were, several uncomfortable minutes of silence later, still sitting on her living room couch drinking lukewarm tea. Well, not really drinking just periodically lifting the near-empty the cup to her mouth and pretending to take a sip.

"No idea," he said. "Barring any where obvious like a sidewalk."

"Funny." But she wasn't grinning. "I wish I could get a second look at that letter or at least I should've been smart enough take a picture of it. I don't know if we're supposed to be looking at this literally, figuratively...or…somewhere in between." The letter hadn't really made much sense either. _Did Tomin really write that letter? How did she know Kurapika lost his memory?_

She sat her cup on the coffee table and folded her hands onto her lap. She tugged on the end of her long-sleeved sweater over her wrists. "There's something a bit ironic about asking a guy with amnesia to visit the last, whatever, ten or thirteen places he's been at…but the chapel must be connected somehow."

"It's thirteen." He scratched the side of his head. "Probably."

She nodded, but _why is the air so stale?_ Like it was suffocating suddenly and she was struggling to catch her breath. Kurapika seemed to feel it to, for his heart rate was steadily increasing. _Maybe I'm just imagining things._ But lately she had been feeling unwell in general. And it was hard to pinpoint what exactly she was feeling or why.

"Do you have any theories? Even if it's a wild one," she said. Nothing was coming to her mind.

"Not…really."

She inhaled sharply. "Do you want to take a nap? You seem pretty tired."

The look her gave her said _what_. He was still probably suspicious of her, and had only come this far with her _maybe out of some subconscious remembrance_ of their relationship together.

"Hold on one second." She got up and retrieved her phone from the kitchen, which had been charging. They didn't really have many _any_ pictures together, and the ones they did have together were usually taken by mistake when she had been trying to take a picture of something else. But she did have one picture of him, which she presented as proof that they really had known each other.

"I know you probably don't trust me, and yes my behavior is pretty strange, but it's only because we were very good friends," she said. "We worked together for a long time. And you can ask me anything about yourself and I can probably answer it."

A thoughtful expression crossed his face for a second, and he leaned back into the couch pillows. "Strangely enough, I'm not really curious about anything. I believe you when you say you know me."

She sat back on the couch. _Thank Goodness_ for she had no idea how she would actually answer anything about him. A few cliché platitudes came to mind, but that would hardly do him any good.

"You're a perpetually stressed out young man with ties to the mafia and a troubled past," she replied. "If that jogs your memory."

He wrinkled his nose. "Sounds a bit cliché," he replied evenly.

"Well, your life is a bit cliché frankly, but so is mine."

He grinned at her.

"So, a nap? Hear me out, you are smart and you can figure this out, but you look like Frankenstein's monster right now and you're just talking weirdly, so I think a nap will do your mind some good," she said. And she did believe those words.

"I don't think I can fall asleep right now," he replied.

Giving him a grin, she produced her flute from underneath her shirt. When she had been disfigured, she always wore coats and this concealed the object. But now that she had taken to wearing less clothing, she usually hid her flute in under baggy sweaters in a small, pocket or beneath fluffy shirts. Bust mostly baggy sweaters. "Lay down. I'll put you to sleep." She hopped to her feet, went to her bedroom and got a blanket. Tossing it on top of him, she turned the lights off, then sat on the loveseat across from the couch and played.

Only once had she ever used her flute to put Kurapika to sleep and it worked only because he had wanted to go to sleep. Now, with no Nen to guard him, his eyelids drooped after a few minutes and soon he was sound asleep. Tucking him under the covers, she figured he would be out for a couple of hours, which gave her enough time to do what really needed to be done.

* * *

One thing that had sort of crossed her mind already was how useless Kurapika was going to be without his Nen. And that thought had come to her in the nicest way possible, but it was still true nonetheless. Thus far, she hadn't even caught site of his chain anywhere on him.

And that was a problem, because Senritsu mostly relied on him to do everything, being not necessarily more skilled than her, but having Nen abilities that were more practical and readily available in most situations.

Now, she stood in front of the chapel. The police had clearly been here and swept through most of the place. There was yellow tape around it, but there were no cop cars around, no people, nothing.

 _I wonder if Father Ariale had any family…or friends..._

The doors to the chapel were locked tightly, so she kicked them down. Likely, her DNA was already here being that she had visited when she first found Kurapika and again when she found everyone dead, so she wasn't worried about concealing her tracks. Still, she pulled a second glove over her good hand as an extra safety precaution.

With Kurapika, she couldn't fully explore what she wanted in the chapel without having him slow her down. But alone, in the darkness, she could move quickly and return without him every noticing she was gone.

 _First, the basement._ The blood had been cleaned up off the walls and using Gyo revealed nothing out of the ordinary, so she carefully went through the hallways, studying the walls as she walked, and into the sanctuary. The chapel was rather small, containing a single hall that led from the front doors to the sanctuary and basement. The rows of pews still stood there, this time empty. The altar had an array of plants decorating it, and while she hadn't gotten a good look at it the first time, now she was able to see what was hidden behind them.

 _Kurapika has been busy then…_ a frown crossed her face as she moved a pot of mint or something to the floor. _Wonder why the police didn't move any of this stuff? Did they not see it was here?_

About five pairs of the Scarlet Eyes sat on a shelf behind the plants, neatly lined up and encased in glass jars.


	7. Missing

**Seven: Missing**

Despite initially being excited over the discovery of the Eyes, Senritsu realized _this does me no good._ The jars didn't necessarily belong to Kurapika; they could easily be one of the people's living here, or even Father Ariale's. And while she wanted to think they were his simply because it made sense, she couldn't really say that with any kind of certainty.

 _And how did I not notice them before?_ Granted, she'd been too busy staring at Kurapika, _but still..._

Crouching down, she studied the jars again for a moment, before deciding to take them with her. Maybe they would jog Kurapika's memory a little, maybe not, but she certainly couldn't leave them here either way. Lacking anything to carry them with, she scoured the chapel for a box, crate, anything. Eventually, she discovered a pillowcase in the basement. _It'll have to do._ Sighing, she plucked it off the floor and bunched it up as she took it upstairs.

Carefully stacking the jars inside, she hugged the case tightly to her chest with both arms and headed outside.

"Freeze!"

Somehow, she had sense enough not to drop the Eyes though she jumped at the sight of two police men pointing their weapons at her. She opened her mouth.

"Put your hands in the air!"

"I can't drop these!" It was true. Kurapika wouldn't have to kill her, she would kill herself over it.

"Ma'am, I'm warning you." The chief from earlier wasn't among the cops there, and she didn't remember seeing any of these men at the station earlier. She considered turning and running, _but I'm innocent._ Why should she run? So she threw one hand in the air, still clutching the jars to her chest with the other.

"It's valuable," she said. "I can't drop these. Take them from me. I won't resist."

One of the cops approached her carefully and slowly as he put his gun away. He took the bag from her and sat it on the ground delicately, while the other officer kept his gun trained on her. Then he handcuffed her.

"Why am I being arrested? Don't I have rights?" she asked.

"You're under suspicion for the murder of Tomin Vway. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used again you…" The cop tugged her gently towards the flashing car on the street as we went on.

"Uh really?" she said, feeling incredulous. _Tomin too?_ But she was innocent and she could easily prove it... _damn it._ Maybe she wouldn't be able to prove it. Ariale had been her ticket to innocence actually when it came to Tomin, but now he was dead and she had likely been one of the last people to see him as well. _Not a good record so far..._ the thought made her frown.

* * *

The drive to the police station was rather grim, and though she considered various escape methods along the way, _they all make me look guilty. No,_ if she ran it would only further the suspicion that she did something criminal, which she hadn't. The Hunter's License would get her out of any serious trouble, and maybe she could use this opportunity to find out what, if anything, the cops knew about the murders.

Closing her eyes, she leaned back against hard leather. Kurapika would be asleep for at least a few more hours, maybe longer if he were genuinely tired, and this would allow her to do some digging without worrying too much about him. Maybe even get some information out of the police.

 _Does he have anything to do with this?_ While she could certainly imagine Kurapika getting into a row of sorts with some shady men, she couldn't imagine anyone in the mafia having the sort of power to wipe out his memories, then kill everyone who might help him remember it before anyone got a chance to talk with them. Kurapika was no idiot or weakling, _so how did he end up losing his memories?_

"Where was the last place you were at…" she murmured, mostly to herself, but the cop in the front seat shot her a wary look anyway. _And how can I find out where that is if he doesn't remember?_

Before she knew it, she was being whisked into the police station, where she was finger printed, and taken to a holding cell.

"Uh can I talk with someone?" she said. "My phone call?"

The officer just gave her a look. "You get one phone call."

"I know. Look, I didn't kill anyone."

"Tell that to the judge."

Ire rose up her throat, but she pushed it down. She wasn't guilty, she was innocent, and she hadn't killed anyone. The policemen were simply doing their job arresting her and there was no reason to be upset with them. It would be easier if she cooperated with them now _anyway_.

"Can I get my phone call?' she asked. "Please?"

The officer gave her a tight-lipped smile, before nodding and opening the door. He led her to a wired phone. She thought long and hard about who to call, about three minutes in all. Her cellphone had been on her, so the police likely had it now, but Kurapika's phone was at her house and there was a good chance it was on; he would be able to attest to her innocence at least. But if she called and he slept through it, it was a wasted opportunity.

Outside of him though, _who else should I call?_

She dialed a number and waited.

"Hello, this is Chief Swartzenbarger."

"I thought you didn't think I committed the murder," she said.

Heavy breathing came through on the other line, and for a minute she thought he would hang up on her. She could hear a bead of sweat rolling down his chin and hitting the floor. He was either nervous, or doing something strenuous, like working out. And from the clatter behind him, she figured it was the latter.

"I'm sorry, who is this?" he asked.

"Senritsu. I spoke with you earlier about the murder of Tomin. I'm a suspect in the murder of Tomin." she replied, keeping her voice even. "I was just arrested."

"Really?"

"Yes, I'm at the police station in fact. But you said you didn't suspect me."

"Sure. So why did you call me?"

"Because you know I'm innocent," she replied, feeling more annoyed at the man than was deserving. "I just want to know why I was arrested."

"I didn't put in the call, so I don't know. I'll look into it, but you'd do well to keep your nose out of this."

"Times up!" Officer Hently said.

The line was dead but she hung up and followed him back to her cell. And then she waited, unsure of what she was waiting for. Time seemed to pass by slowly, and she had trouble filtering out all the excess noise and focusing on any one thing.

Swartzenbarger made his appearance a little after midnight, or around midnight and told Hently to let her out as there had been a mistake of some kind, _she isn't a suspect aby longer._

"Look, I don't know what you were doing stealing evidence out of the chapel, or even being in the chapel in general," he said, giving her a hard look from the door of the cell. "But you're not making it easy for me to convince the others you aren't guilty."

"I'm a Hunter," she replied. "And I wasn't stealing evidence."

"Yeah, well tell that to my boss. He hates your type most of all because of all the shit you get away with." He shook his head. "I got one word of advice for you, stay away. I'm not bailing you out a second time."

And with those words, she was given her things sans the Scarlet Eyes and led outside onto the street.

 _Great._

She decided to walk back to her home mostly because she wanted to take some time to think. But really, her mind was only drawing blanks. No matter what she thought, she could only think Kurapika was storing the Scarlet Eyes there for some reason, which would at least partially explain Father Ariale's strange behavior and why he was there in the first place. _Maybe._ She was so unsure about that theory that the longer she thought about it, the less likely it seemed to be. Why would he be storing the Eyes there of all places?

Her apartment door was unlocked and she pushed it open. _Well, nothing's changed at least,_ which was a good sign. Kurapika wouldn't remember the Scarlet Eyes anyhow, so there was no reason to mention that she had lost them.

 _Speaking of whom_ , the living room was deathly quiet. _Not even the sound of his heartbeat in here…_

Panic spiked through her, _did I kill him by mistake?_ But when she saw the ruffled blanket and empty couch, she relaxed for only a second. He wasn't dead, at least she didn't think so, but he also wasn't in her apartment any longer.


	8. 8

**Eight**

Just to be on the safe side, Senritsu checked her entire apartment again for the missing blonde; her partially furnished bed-room, her bathroom, her tiny kitchen, and the living room. She even peered under the couch, wondering if _maybe he shrunk himself somehow._ But she didn't check the fridge _._ And she didn't bother with the cabinets either.

He was gone, and not only that, he was truly gone. His heartbeat was one-of-a-kind, to her at least, and she'd be able to pick it out even if he were a block or two away from here in a crow of elephants.

"Kurapika?" She ventured. _Oh stop it. He's not here._ With a sigh, she flopped down on the couch and pinched the bridge of her nose. _So if I were an amnesiac, where would I go? Why would I go anywhere? Did he remember something? Did I make him recall something by mistake with my Nen?_ And just how had he woken up that quickly? She played a melody that would keep him asleep for a while, and though a few hours had passed between her leaving and returning, it wasn't long enough for him to wake up.

"Did someone take him?" she asked, more to herself than to anyone else, because no one else was there. Sitting upright, she thought that idea sort of made sense. Except there was no indication anyone had come into her house while she was gone, it looked as if he'd just gotten up and left, _which who could fault him for?_ Other than her word, there was no evidence that they really knew each other. Her behavior was probably closer to that of a stalker's, than a friend's.

"What do I do? Should I go looking for him?" she asked the ceiling. It didn't reply, but the answer was obvious. It was still fairly late at night, but she went out into the streets anyway, taking her phone and coat, and locking the door behind her.

The sidewalk was mostly empty, the chill in the air more than likely keeping all but the most adventurous indoors. The faint sound of dogs barking steadily grew louder, though she tried to block the noise out and find Kurapika. But the more she tried, the louder everything around her grew. Raucous really.

Blocking sounds out had become a necessary habit for her. Not that she would actually block them out, it was more like blurring noises, keeping them out of focus like a picture until she chose to look at them, or in her case hear them. Like a second-nature at this point in her life, but only almost because she could never completely ignore the sounds around her.

And she really didn't want to anyway.

Her shoes pounded heavily on gray concrete. _Should I hail a taxi?_ She considered calling his phone, _but he doesn't have it on him, does he?_ Worry crept up her arms and legs, invading every crevice of her body. Maybe someone had actually taken him. Maybe it was the same person who'd killed Tomin and the people at the chapel.

 _Maybe…_

"Why did I have to go and get arrested? Idiot." A sigh escaped her lips. Really, she couldn't even begin to imagine where he might have gone.

But then, up ahead, she saw him. Strolling towards her in a lazy, slow manner. He gave her a tiny wave, and her irritation and anxiety melted away.

"Why'd you run off?" She asked, staring at him.

"I didn't. I just went for a walk." His voice was even, calm as he stood in front of her, just like his heart, so he wasn't lying. But there was something that made her think _he isn't telling the truth either, is he?_

"You didn't have to come looking for me," he said. "I was on my way back."

"Not like you have anywhere else to go, right?" The joke fell flat, which was why she pointed her face at the sky and pretended to study it for a few moments to hide her embarrassment.

"Guess not," he replied. "Did you find anything while you were away?"

"How'd you know I was gone?"

"...I woke up before you returned." He quirked an amused eyebrow at her.

"Oh." Her cheeks warmed again. _Why do I act so stupidly around him all the time?_ "I went back to the chapel, but I was arrested before I could look into anything."

"That's unfortunate. Why'd they let out out?"

"I called Swartzenbarger and he came and told them I wasn't a suspect...I think someone suspects I, or we, committed those murders." Confident she wouldn't blush, she looked at him. "But you're my alibi, so that should be okay."

"Some alibi I make." But he grinned a little sheepishly at her. "You look cold; we should head back to your place. Maybe sleep on this."

Nodding, the two to of them made their way back. The walk didn't take long and by the time she unlocked her front door and stepped inside, she felt entirely at ease.

Her mouth tumbled open.

"Did you throw a party before looking for me?" Kurapika asked, without the slightest bit of sarcasm.

"I certainly did not," she replied. Someone had trashed her place. Tore every painting off the wall, taken every dish out of the cabinets, upturned every pillow and blanket in her bedroom and clothes, even moved the couch and tables around.

Kurapika pushed past her and looked around. It took her a minute, but she realized _he's checking the place for anyone, how sweet._ She bit down on her lip to keep from smiling and followed after him.

"It's not destructive," he said.

"Huh?"

He looked down at his black shoes and frowned. "I mean…I don't know. Never mind."

She threw her hands in the air. "No, no that-you sound like the Kurapika I know. You're really smart, you know. Just say it."

"I meant it looks like someone was very hastily searching for something. They didn't break or destroy anything, and it doesn't even look like they took something," he said.

"So you're saying this wasn't random?"

He looked at her and blinked several times. "I don't know what I'm saying. I just…it doesn't look random to me, no. But it doesn't seem malicious either."

"Sorry. I keep forgetting." _That you have no clue about anything. Still,_ she was glad at least that the Kurapika she knew was still there. That the wheels in his brain were turning even slowly.

 _Too slowly though._

Using Gyo revealed nothing however. At least, the intruder had broken in through traditional means most likely: the front door. But her lock seemed fine and there wasn't a person in the world who had a spare key, _is there?_

They cleaned up and slept on it. Tomorrow was a new day, at least that's what Senritsu told herself as she snuggled beneath her fluffy, blue blanket. Kurapika was on the couch, at his insistence since she had offered the bed to him. Maybe they could share a bed… _geez, stop it Senritsu._

Pulling the covers over her head, she shut her eyes.

* * *

First, she heard him coming. And she was on her feet, struggling to pull a hoodie over her head and yelling for Kurapika to wake up though it was still dark outside. The blonde was up though, sitting on the couch and looking out the window in the most picturesque manner ever with the moon bouncing off his face. It was quite ridiculous how handsome he was, even when he wasn't trying to be.

"What's the matter?" He turned to her.

"Did you sleep in that?" she asked, glancing at his black clothes. "Never mind. There's someone coming—"

Someone pounded on her door. Kurapika stood up to get it, but Senritsu waved him back down and crossed the living room to get to the door. She smoothed a few errant strands of brown hair down, before opening it..

"Well, this is quite the surprise." Swartzenbarger raised a bushy eyebrow. He placed a hand on his hip and looked down at her.

"What are you doing here?" There was more edge to her voice than she intended.

"Got a call reporting a break-in," he replied.

"Who called reporting a break-in? Just now?" she asked. Thankfully, she and Kurapika had partially spruced up the place before going to bed, so it didn't look like anyone had broken in. But the pictures were still on the floor against the wall and not all the dishes had been put away. "No one broke in. I live here, so I would know."

"Somebody did break-in," Kurapika said, coming to stand just behind her.

 _Really?_ Somehow, she refrained from giving him a glower, and instead lowered her gaze to her bare feet, which looked hideous. _Why don't I weak socks to bed anymore?_

"Is that so?" The Chief raised his hand. "Mind if I come inside then?"

"This is my apartment and yes I do mind." She crossed her arms. Though the stance struck her as silly and childish, her actions as well. Why was she so upset right now? And why was she so intent on not letting this man into her apartment. _I have nothing to hide…_

Swartzenbarger took a step back. "Alright. You don't have to press charges if you don't want. I just came here to help, little miss."

"I didn't call the police," she said. "I don't know who did. In fact, it was probably a prank of some kind, because someone is clearly out to frame me for things I didn't do as you already know."

"It's not a prank," Kurapika said, placing a warm hand on her shoulder. "I called the police."


	9. Familiar

**Nine: Familiar**

"You called me?" The Chief asked, looking surprised, a feeling Senritsu fully related too.

"Why did you call the police?" she asked.

"Why did you lie about someone breaking in?" Kurapika asked, looking annoyed. "And I called him to get answers."

"What made you think I'd show up and not someone else?" Swarzenbarger raised both his eyebrows.

"Lucky guess." Though it was clear Kurapika had been confident the Chief would show, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered.

The Chief glanced behind him. "So you going to let me in to take a statement or should I just leave?"

Senritsu waved him inside, leading him to her small living room, where he sat on the fluffy couch and leaned into the pillows. Having not gotten the chance before, she looked at him closely now. He was an odd looking man, with bright yellow eyes and red-hair that didn't match his stoic face. And even stranger was his heartbeat. It was calm and steady, but not like a man who was actually at ease. More like a man who had trained himself over many years to remain relaxed no matter the situation. And really, she was likely just reading into things. _He has no reason to be worried around us anyway, does he?_

Senritsu stood in the doorframe of the kitchen and explained that she'd come home to find her house a mess last night, but frankly didn't think anything of it. _A lie,_ and she wasn't sure why she felt it was so necessary that she lie about something.

"Okay, do you want us to look into it?" he asked.

"Isn't that your job?" she replied.

"Alright, alright little lady." He raised his hands in the air in a gesture of peace. "Blondie, what sort of questions do you have? Cause you have a small window of opportunity here to ask me whatever you want."

"The letter Tomin gave you," Kurapika asked. "How do you know it's from Tomin?"

"Pardon me?" Swartzenbarger asked, blinking rapidly. Even Senritsu gave him a look. _What is he talking about?_

"I mean, you said she left the note for Senritsu, but how do you know Tomin wrote it herself?"

The man's chapped lips poked out. He straightened his back and placed his hands on his knees. "I mean…I don't know what you want me to say? I don't know for certain, we didn't run forensics or anything on it to make sure it's her handwriting if that's what you mean. Her mother had the note. Apparently, Tomin dropped it off at with her before she died, but I'm not even supposed to tell you that."

"Right before she died?" Senritsu asked. But when the Chief gave her a blank look she pouted. "Come on. You said it yourself; you don't believe I murdered her. And you have no evidence that I did so anyway, other than I was the last person to talk to her…alive…."

"Wait, so Tomin gave her mother the note…before Senritsu talked to her?" Kurapika asked, his eyes narrowing in thought. "Or you she saw her mother after talking with Senritsu."

Swartzenbarger scratched his head. Then he rubbed his nose and leaned back against the couch again. " Just between the two of us, yes."

"To which one?" Senritsu said, nearly at the same time as Kurapika said it.

Swartzenbarger rubbed his chin. "Look, I can't tell you anything. You're a suspect in her murder. Try and pull the Hunter card all you want, but I can tell you're not the type to kill me like some of the others would. Neither of you are." He frowned. "Already, you're pushing your luck. So you have anything else to say about the break-in?"

Senritsu crossed her arms. "I'm not interested in pressing charges, Swartzenbarger" she said. And when Kurapika shot her a quizzical look, she gave him a shrug.

"Alright." Swartzenbarger stood up. "Call me Swartz, since we're getting to know each other so well." And he winked, but it was directed at Kurapika, who furrowed his brow together.

Swartz's boots squeaked along the floor as he said farewell and headed out. Senritsu bid him goodbye, then watched out her living room window as he drove off.

"Sorry," Kurapika said.

"You wake me up in the middle of the night…how did you even call the cops?" she asked.

"With my phone?"

 _Right._ She sighed and placed a hand on her forehead. "Well, did that jog your memory?"

"No…but we got something at least," he said. "Tomin went to see her mother right after talking to you. I say we try and speak with her…or see if we can look at the street cameras from that day."

She nodded. "Good ideas…Can we wait until morning though?"

"Sure thing." His lazy grin melted her annoyance. She watched him plod back to the couch, before going back to her bedroom. But sunrise came sooner than she would've liked. And she found herself showering and then waiting for Kurapika to finish shower. Funny how she'd spent a lot of time dreaming about this: the two of them living together, sharing bathrooms, eating meals together. But she would've preferred these circumstances to come about in a more romantic way. Kurapika was with her now only because he didn't remember breaking up with her a few months ago.

 _Ah well._ She gently patted the rest of her mousy, brown hair with a towel and studied her appearance in the mirror. Since finding the Sonata of Darkness and gaining most of her old appearance back, she had been happier but only very slightly, much to her surprise. Not that her appearance was much of an improvement, but people looked at her differently. Less with disgust and irritation, and more with indifference. And she found their indifference harder to read than their disgust sometimes. _Emotions are much easier read through hearing, than through sight._

Kurapika finished showering and appeared in her bedroom, two towels wrapped around his waist and chest, and dripping wet. Senritsu dug around her closet to find him a pair of jeans and a white tee shirt, which he changed into.

"I'll have to buy you some clothes…or maybe we can stop by your old room and see if you left anything there," she said as they stepped outside. She locked her door behind her.

"Alright. Thanks," he said.

"You're welcome."

They hailed a taxi. It wasn't difficult to look up Tomin's house address being that it was connected to her shop, and they were hoping one of her neighbors knew where her mother lived, or could give them a phone number, or anything really.

They arrived at a small apartment complex. A hairless dog stood outside, glowering at them as they walked up to the front door and into a tiny, lobby area. No one was at the desk there, but a few people were milling around, waiting for the elevator.

"Hey," Senritsu said, approaching them. "You all know where Tomin lives?"

"Who wants to know?" That was a man closest to the elevator.

"I do?" she squeaked, surprised at the way her voice changed. "I mean, I'm looking for her mother."

The man regarded her with a bit of suspicion for a few seconds. "Her mom and her lived in 414," he said.

"Thanks."

When the elevator made its appearance, they got on and road it up to 414 at the speed of a turtle. They knocked on the door of 414.

A pale-faced woman opened it fully. "Yes?"

"Um…ma'am…" Senritsu said. _I don't even know your name._ "We wanted to talk to you about your daughter, Tomin, if it's okay."

"And we're sorry for you loss," Kurapika added, always the perfect gentlemen. His face even looked apologetic and sober, and Senritsu did her best to mirror his expression as she nodded.

The woman's mouth fell open, before she reached leaned for and wrapped Kurapika in an embrace. "I thought you'd never show up."


	10. 10

**Ten**

The woman stepped back, wearing a warm smile.

Kurapika did the same, his face growing red with confusion. Senritsu was of a similar disposition frankly, _what is going on?_

"You know him?" Senritsu asked, looking at the woman with a frown, who returned her gaze looking equally as miffed. And now that Senritsu could see her face clearly, it became apparent to her that Tomin's mother was blind or at least very visually impaired. Her irises were a cloudy blue and her gaze was unfocused, like she wasn't really looking at her.

"No, you," Tomin's mother said. "I've been waiting for you. Well, both of you. Oh dear, sorry my vision isn't that great any more. You are her, aren't you?"

 _Has she mistaken us for someone else?_ And really, lying would get her nowhere. They needed information on Kurapika, or Tomin, so it was probably best to start out as truthful as possible.

"I am her," she replied. "Is it because of the letter? About Tomin…?"

The woman nodded, inviting them inside with a wave. And while her gut told her _this is a bad idea_ , the more rational part of herself reminded her _we have to get some kind of answers from someone._ So she walked in, Kurapika trailing just behind her and she could almost hear the questions in the erratic way he was breathing. Several questions came to her own mind, but none of them would help their situation. Senritsu hardly knew what they were looking for outside of the last few places her blonde companion had been presumably before losing his memories.

Tomin's mother's apartment was barren of anything but a couch in the living room, and a few wooden chairs in a large kitchen off to her right. But it was empty in a way that indicated she had _moved out a bunch of stuff in a hurry…_

"Sorry for the mess," the woman said, motioning towards the large, L-shaped yellow couch in the center of the living room. "My husband passed away a month ago and…well I was in the process of moving when all this happened."

"It's no problem," Senritsu said, sitting down.

"Sorry about your loss," Kurapika said, standing awkwardly above her. "Both of them."

The woman smiled, and Senritsu scanned the room for any clues as to what her name might have been. A letter, a stray note, but the tiny place revealed nothing.

"Look," Kurapika folded his hands across his lap as he sat down. "I'm not sure who you think we are, but we're probably not the people you're waiting for. My friend here was the last person to talk to Tomin alive, and that's why we're here. Because she gave you a letter to give to my friend."

Senritsu turned a shot him a look, but she couldn't really complain about him being blunt. Even the old Kurapika had been a little blunt and to-the-point.

"Oh…" The woman nodded, a sad expression fell across her face for a moment. "Well, I guess I'll introduce myself then. I'm Kila, Tomin's mother."

"Senritsu and this is Kurapika," she said. "And I am very sorry about the death of your daughter. I…" But the right words escaped her. Somehow, she felt Tomin's death was her fault. If not wholly, than at least partially.

 _No, it's not. I have nothing to do with her death._

"If you don't mind me asking, what did the two of you talk about?" Kila asked. And she was still standing in front of the couch, making the fact that the two of them were seated extremely uncomfortable.

"I was looking for Kurapika," she replied. "Someone sold his phone to Tomin and I wanted to know who. She helped me find him, actually."

There was something closed off about Kila. And there would likely be no getting any information from her. It wasn't just the strange, steady way her heart beat, but everything about her seemed to have grown still. Like she was doing everything in her power not to make any noise, or move.

"That's nice." Kila sat at the edge of the couch. "I appreciate the visit, but I don't like being deceived. I am expecting someone any minute now, so I have to ask you to leave."

"Of course," Kurapika said, standing up.

 _What do you mean of course?_ Senritsu glanced at him again. They needed answers; there was nothing _of course_ about it. But she followed his lead, bidding Kila goodbye and walking out the door.

"Hold on," Kila said. "There's…something for you. I didn't think I'd ever see either of you. Tomin….just take it." She practically shoved the paper in Kurapika's face and pushed him out into the hallway. The door slammed shut a few seconds later, followed by the loud click of a lock.

Kurapika opened the paper. "I think these are clues," he said, extending the paper towards her.

"What?" She looked at it herself. They might have been clues, or gibberish, or poetry for all she knew. The paper contained a list of words, none of which really made any sense to her. "What makes you think these are clues?"

"Church: Scarlet Eyes," he said.

"…How do you know about that?"

"The Scarlet Eyes in the church?" he asked, wrinkling his nose. He motioned for her to follow him and began heading for the elevator. "They were Father Ariale's collection or something. They kind of creeped me out though."

Chewing on her next words carefully, she listened to his heart carefully as she caught up to him. "Do you know what the Scarlet Eyes are?" she asked. They were in front of the elevator. He pushed the button and then looked down at her.

The expression on his face told her _he has no idea what I'm talking about_. And she wasn't sure if that relieved or worried her. _So Father Ariale knew about them…did Kurapika bring them there or were they really his?_ It truly was too bad the man was gone; otherwise Senritsu was fairly certain she would've been able to play a melody that would relax him enough to talk.

"Should I know what they are?" he asked.

"No, not particularly," she replied, clearing her throat. "Uh so the next clue on here would be…?"

He shrugged. "I'm just guessing really. I don't know."

"Well guess some more. There aren't even thirteen things on here. Just four."

Kurapika took another look at the paper. "Forest: Spider."

"You know what that means?"

"No, I told you I'm just guessing."

"So you don't know what the Spider is?"

"…Yes, I know what a spider is, unless you're referring to something else?"

"I'm referring to something else." But that wasn't important at the moment. "So you think before you were at the church you were at a forest?"

"Forest Iardina or something like that. You can see it from the chapel," he said, nonchalantly. "It's the only thing on there that makes sense."

"Okay, let's go."

* * *

They went to the "forest", if it could even be called that. It was more like a park with a few trees here and there, but it was called Forest Iardina, and you could practically see Ariale's chapel from there. There was a small hiking trail in the park they went down together. And the situation might have been romantic if Kurapika had been paying any attention to her at all.

But as it was, they were both more concerned with what exactly they were doing here.

"So I don't really understand something, like is this like a puzzle where we go to various places and you remember something? We piece it together and then you have all your memories back?" she asked. "I mean, the only instructions we got from Tomin were the last thirteen or whatever places you had been at, but if we go there what does that even mean?"

Kurapika shuffled beside her slowly. "I don't know. I mean, I sort of remembered something at the chapel, but I think it was just a memory of me arriving there."

"Why would Father Ariale be cleaning blood off the wall though when you arrived?" she frowned.

"Maybe that place isn't actually a chapel," he said. "It was pretty normal, when I was there though. They had a church service and everything…"

 _But he had those Eyes there…_ She frowned.

They came to a small fork in the road. "I wonder why she wrote Forest and Spider." Kurapika asked. "Should be lookout for spider webs?"

"Er…maybe." But it was entirely possible the note did actually mean spiders and not the Spider. "Let's walk around a little bit more…see if another memory comes to mind." And then, glancing at his outfit, she frowned a little harder. "Then I'm taking you shopping for something that doesn't make you look like a Shinigami."

"Alright."

They walked to the end of the trail, which looped back around to where they had started. By then, she was tired and ready to take a nap. Kurapika hadn't remembered anything either, _maybe this is the wrong forest?_

"That's interesting," Kurapika said, motioning to a sign by the park's entrance.

"What?"

"The trail we were on is called the Spider's Trail."

"Really?" She looked at the sign. It was called that. And it was named so because apparently a very rare type of spider was often found here, _native to Zevil Island, where is that?_ "Well, there is always the internet. Might as well look it up."

"Alright," he replied.

"But first, clothes."

* * *

 **AN:** I just want to apologize for all the grammar errors lol


	11. Shopping

**Eleven: Shopping**

Senritsu peered at the dressing room door, wondering if Kurapika actually cared about changing clothes or if she was making him change because the all-black look was too sober for her tastes. She was leaning towards the former.

But likely, it was the latter. And he did look much better, wearing a plain white, long-sleeve t-shirt and jeans when he stepped out, _handsome even,_ but she tried to push those thoughts away and simply gave him a thumbs up with her good arm. "Looks good."

"Thanks," he replied, fiddling with then end of his sleeve. "So, are we looking up spider trails now?" He asked.

She dropped her gaze and fumbled around her purse, pretending to look for her wallet. "Do you have any other leads?" She hadn't meant to sound snippy, and a quick look at his expression revealed he wasn't upset.

"Not really." He stood awkwardly in front of her. "And that's the problem."

"Pretty much. We don't know where to start, so we're just throwing things up against the wall right now." And that was true. Mostly. She had no idea where to truly start looking, nor even if they had already ticked off one of the last twelve places Kurapika had been. _Or was it thirteen? Damn it._

"It's entirely possible Tomin sent us on a wild goose chase, or that letter isn't even from her," Kurapika said.

"Those are both good points." She pulled out her wallet and walked up to the counter, pulling the tags off of Kurapika's clothes as she brushed by him. "Uh can I just pay for this?"

The cashier shrugged, swiping the tags. Senritsu paid, and then the two of them went outside where the sun cast odd shadows all over the sidewalk, indicating it was late in the evening. Her stomach rumbled lightly as they began strolling down the street.

"You're right," she said. "Sorry, I guess I should've thought of that sooner."

"No worries."

"I don't think the trails mean anything though," Senritsu replied. "I guess we should go with what we do have. The church is where...well kind of where it all started. That's where you were at least and that's where you saw that vision."

He nodded. "Can we get back in there?"

"Maybe," she said. "There's something shady about that whole place, but…I'm just not smart enough to figure out what."

"I'm sure that's not true," he replied. And there wasn't any hesitation in his voice, which made her feel slightly better about her lack of intelligence.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Tomin gave me a number...I'm going to give it a call." Dialing swiftly, she pressed the phone to her ear and waited.

"This number is no longer in service, please—"

She hung up and tried a second time.

"This number is—"

"Not in service any longer," she replied, hanging up. "Thanks, I know."

"You sure that's the right number?" Kurapika asked.

"Yeah…Tomin knew whoever had brought your phone to her she said "don't tell him you got this phone from me…so a he brought your phone into the store," she replied. "I wonder if Tomin kept some kind of record of people who came into the store."

"A record of sales more than likely, particularly if money was exchanged," he said. "But I don't think my phone is worth much, if anything at all."

"True…and how would we get access to that stuff?" Normally, she'd pull her Hunter card. But she didn't want to draw any further suspicion since, Swartzenbarger already suspected she had something to do with Tomin's murder, even if he was trying to pretend that he didn't; stirring the pot wouldn't do her much good. But obtaining what she wanted through dubious and secretive methods also wouldn't look too good.

"Is there a legal way of obtaining access to that kind of stuff?"

"Sort of…I'm a Hunter…but so are you!" Her brows came together. _Maybe he can get access to that information without it looking too suspicious._ "Where's your Hunter's license?"

"My what?"

"Your…I guess I should tell you a little about yourself," she said. "Let's go somewhere and talk."

"Like a date?" One of his eyebrows went up.

Her face flushed and she looked down at her shoes. "Um…"

"I'm kidding," he said, grinning slightly. He gave her shoulder a light pat. "Just trying to lighten the mood. Everything's so serious and it's not helping me remember anything."

"Right." She tried to hide her disappointment, but she could feel it coming off her in droves, like a wave washing over her.

"I do wonder about the letter though," he said.

"How come?" she asked. But then another thought hit her. "I never checked it for any traces of Nen."

"Of what?"

"Nen." And she almost slapped herself for not doing something so basic. _Sheesh, Kurapika really does make me flustered._ It was a good thing they had stopped working together. "The letter was so vague, but what if it contained a hidden crossed her arms. message of some kind? One that the police wouldn't be able to read?"

The look Kurapika gave her was anything but confused despite the fact that she could hear his heart doing backflips inside his chest. "…Okay?"

"No, seriously," she said. "We have to get that letter."

He nodded. "Alright."

"But first, food." _The letter will still be there in a few hours. Hopefully…_


End file.
